Chapter 16
The frown on Gideon’s face had people side-stepping him and parting like the Red Sea. It was one of those times where he didn’t care to fix his face and look more approachable.
He had been at NellanNem’s asking Habib if he knew anything about Trick.
The old man only knew that the nigga was bad news, but that was about it, which was odd for Habib.
He normally knew all about the happenings in the hood.
Whether or not he would talk about it depended on the person asking.
Habib had to know that the people he helped would not only protect him if it came to that but also do right by the information.
Habib did his best to stay neutral with street shit, but he also had a good moral compass and would use it in a heartbeat.
With no more information about Trick, he stepped out of NellanNem’s in a bad mood.
Getting the call from Haze that his wife had snuck out of the compound pissed him off.
It took him no time to pull up to the compound.
He marched inside and spotted Haze sitting on the large sectional and watching the game.
“Where she at?”
“Your room,” Haze called out. “Aye, Mama is coming over to make dinner. She’s tired of you and Glimm hiding out from her.”
Gideon waved him off. Mama Laurent was the least of his worries at the moment. He had a bone to pick with Glimmer.
He took the stairs three at a time and took long strides toward his room. When he opened the door, he saw that she sat on the bed with her knees to her chest, staring straight ahead with a pout on her beautiful face.
His heart thawed a little as he closed the door behind him, but not enough to ease up on her so quickly.
Glimmer had no idea what going out on her own without telling anyone could have caused.
Gideon had no doubt that Trick had eyes everywhere, even if the nigga was like a ghost. There was a damn hit on her head.
She had to understand that shit wasn’t safe for her outside the compound.
Hell, every day he lived with the fear that Trick would get bold enough to hit up the compound.
It wasn’t like he didn’t know where it was.
Everyone did, which was another reason he wanted to move out of there and settle into a safe and secure life with Glimmer.
Her eyes found his, and he saw tears instantly gather in them. He sighed and walked over to the bed, but he didn’t sit.
“Fuck were you thinkin’?”
Her eyes grew wide as a fat tear dropped onto the comforter. He had never spoken to her like that before. It shocked him too. The anger hadn’t completely melted away yet.
“I . . . I was just going to see my mom, Gideon. I swear I wasn’t trying to cause all this chaos.”
Gideon’s frown deepened, and she scooted away from him slightly. His heart ached at that. No matter how angry he was, she didn’t need to be afraid of him. He would never harm her.
Gideon shook his head. “You understand you have a hit on yo’ head, right, baby? You can’t just wander off on ya own, especially to see ya moms.”
Her face scrunched up. Glimmer knew how he felt about her mom. She couldn’t be trusted.
“She’s my mom, G.”
He nodded. “I ain’t say you can’t see her. I just said you can’t see her alone.”
“But she asked for only me to come. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
His baby was so damn na?ve. Honestly, he wished he could keep her that way as long as he could, but he also felt she needed to be hit with a harsh dose of reality so she could be more cautious moving forward.
He sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand down his face. “You don’t find that suspicious, Glimmer? She specifically asked to see you alone?”
He watched as thoughts swarmed her head. Another tear dropped, but he could tell this one was out of frustration. He feared something they would never agree on was her mama. As terribly as the woman treated her, it was like Glimmer had rose-colored lenses on when it came to the woman.
“No, I don’t,” she replied with finality.
He stood up with dread filling him because he had a feeling Glimmer’s sweet perspective was about to change regarding her mother. “Aight then, let’s go.”
Her brows hiked. “Go?”
“Yeah. You want to see her, and you think it’s safe, so let’s go.”
“You want to come with me?”
Even though he was upset, he reached a hand out and caressed her cheek. “I want to go with you everywhere.”
She relaxed at his words, which caused his heart to flutter. He loved that he had the energy to calm her.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Gideon moved his hand and held it out to her.
She reluctantly accepted it, and he helped her off the bed.
As they made their way out of the room, Gideon sent a text to the Vicious Kings.
He would let Glimmer think they were going to see her mother alone, but every fiber of his being told him he needed to have backup.
After getting the address from Glimmer, he sent it to the group chat.
Nobody spoke to them as they left the compound. Gideon wasn’t worried. He knew they would follow right behind him within a minute. They never played about each other’s safety, and they wouldn’t start today.
Instead of taking his bike, Gideon opted to take the same car Glimmer tried to sneak away in. It would make for an easier getaway if it came down to that. Deep down, he hoped he was wrong, but he also felt it in his spirit that he wasn’t.
The drive to one of the rundown neighborhoods in The Bay was silent. Gideon knew Glimmer was wrestling with the idea of seeing her mom again after so much had gone down. Gideon wrestled with how to deal with whatever was about to come his way.
When they pulled up, Gideon scoped the scene and then went around the block a couple of times before he parked right in front of the rundown apartment building. He looked at Glimmer. “You ready?”
She simply nodded. He quickly got out and opened the door for her.
They walked up the dirty path toward the building, dodging used needles and pee puddles before they took the stairs up to the second floor.
When they got to the apartment Camille had sent Glimmer, she raised her fist and knocked lightly.
It didn’t take but two seconds for the door to open.
It had been a long time since Gideon had seen Camille.
She hadn’t aged one bit, though he noticed she wasn’t rocking designer from head to toe now.
Her hair was in two braids along the side of her head.
Her face held a scowl, void of makeup, and she wore a baby blue tracksuit with a black line along the side.
“I thought I told you to come alone.”
“Ma, this is Gideon, my husband,” Glimmer said, nervously glancing between the two of them.
Camille waved him off. “I know who he is. Like I said, I thought I told you to come alone?”
“It just wasn’t possible—”
“She don’t go nowhere alone,” Gideon barked, already sick of her shit.
Camille took her time looking him up and down before a smirk formed on her face. She looked so much like Glimmer, . . . just so much meaner.
She hummed. “Oh, you one of them.” She looked at Glimmer. “Got you a damn guard dog, huh?”
“Can we come in, Mama? You said you wanted to talk,” Glimmer reminded her.
Once again, Camille smirked, which caused warning bells to sound off within Gideon. He pulled out his phone and let his men know to be ready at the door in thirty seconds and on standby. He wasn’t about to take no damn chances.
“Of course. Come on in.” Camille stood out of the way as the two of them entered.
The place was rundown and small as hell.
Just inside the door, he could see the small kitchen, the bedroom, the living room, and the bathroom.
The white carpet was gray and dirty, and it smelled like mildew.
He swore he saw a damn rat disappear into a dark corner.
Gideon’s face frowned up, but it turned into a scowl at Camille’s next words.
“You really should have come alone, Glimmer. Might have saved you some heartache.”
“What—”
Glimmer’s words were cut off when a deep voice sounded from behind the bedroom door, which had been mostly closed, save for a crack.
“It’s all good, Camille. A two-for-one special ain’t ever hurt nobody.” Trick stepped out of the room with a shit-eating smirk on his face.
Gideon registered gunshots sounding off just outside the door, which filled him with rage.
It meant Trick’s crew was on standby, too, and was now currently at war with the Vicious Kings.
He wasn’t too worried. The weapons they possessed could take out the US Army, but it pissed him off that niggas were bold enough to even try them.
He forced himself to focus on getting him and Glimmer out of there safely. He had a gun on him, but he knew Trick would watch for him to pull it out. Luckily, he had enough sense to place his favorite weapon inside his hoodie pocket. He just had to get close enough to Trick to use it.
“Mama?” Glimmer asked.
Gideon hated the emotion in her voice. He tried to warn her. Hell, he wanted to save her from this, but he knew Glimmer had to come to terms with the kind of woman her mother was on her own.
“Don’t look at me with those puppy dog eyes. That shit only works on your father.”
“Why would you do this? You know he has a hit out on my head, right?”
Camille waved her off. “He ain’t tryna kill you, girl. He just wants to marry you.”
“She’s already married.” Gideon’s temper flared. The thought of another nigga tryna give Glimmer their last name was about to send him into that black place he tried so desperately to avoid.